UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

A bar diagram represents categorical data with rectangular bars whose lengths are proportional to the frequencies or percentages of categories. The bars are of equal width and are separated by gaps to emphasise that the categories are distinct and not on a continuous scale. Bar diagrams are commonly used to display nominal or ordinal data. Therefore, the graph described in the stem is correctly called a bar diagram.

Option A:
A histogram also uses bars, but they touch each other because they represent continuous data grouped into intervals, indicating no gaps between values. This distinguishes histograms from bar diagrams.

Option B:
A line graph connects data points with lines to show trends over time or ordered categories; it does not use separate bars with gaps to depict frequencies.

Option C:
A pie chart divides a circle into sectors whose angles represent the proportions of categories, and although useful, it is visually quite different from bars of equal width and gaps.

Option D:
Bar diagrams are particularly effective for comparing categories at a glance and are easily interpreted even by non-experts. These features correspond to the description in the question, making this option correct.